Hey check out these examples of current Powered By Service youth, who are taking action in their community! Join the movement. Click here to join. Or if your already registered; click here to apply for a grant.

One of Usher’s New Look former campers is using his talents to be Powered By Service this week. Brandon “TD” is using his talent and network as an athlete to get his community involved in flood relief. Read below as Brandon describes his project and motivation in his own words. Check back everyday this week for an update! CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Darryl Briggs, 19, is the youth leader behind the project Y.O.U.T.H. This project strives striving to promote social and environmental justice in the Bronx, through community outreach, educating policy-makers, and hands-on urban gardening. Through this project, these young leaders are practicing organizing techniques such as public speaking and holding a campaign, as well as putting their new urban farming skills to use to green their community. Y.O.U.T.H. is a project that is based out of For A Better Bronx.

Nyea Garner, 16, is the young leader who founded The Evolutionary Movement (TEM). Teaming up with other youth leaders in Harlem, TEM is using their creative talents in dance and vocals to raise bed nets for Nothing But Nets to end malaria in Africa. TEM members have been practicing and are creating their own unique performance combining song and dance. In addition to expressing their creative talents, the youth leaders in this project are learning and putting to practice business and organizational skills as they go. TEM is supported by Blue Nile Passage.

Victor Davila, 15, and Kendrick Martinez, 14, are the youth leading the Eco Ryders project in the Hunt’s Point area of the Bronx. The Eco Ryders are promoting a healthier, greener community, by using their talents in urban farming and skateboarding, and their expertise in local environmental justice issues. Eco Ryders youth are learning from peer-led workshops, as well as learning hands on skills and putting them to use in the Bryant Hill Community Garden. Youth participants have the added incentive that they get to decorate and keep their own skateboard with a design that they make themselves! The Eco Ryders are based out of The Point CDC, and the ACTION group.

Ivan Jackson, 17, is leading the project Hoops for Awareness, which is set to raise bed nets for Nothing But Nets to save lives from malaria in Africa. Ivan has had a passion for basketball since he was a child. With Hoops for Awareness, he will be putting his talents to use for this life saving cause by holding a charity basketball game to gather donations. Hoops for Awareness is also supported by the Eagle Academy Foundation in NYC.

Jordan Richardson, 19, is one of the youth leaders behind the Revamped Prom Dresses project, at New Design High School in New York City. These Fashion Club youth leaders will be purchasing old prom dresses and using their passion for fashion design to fix them up. The revamped prom dresses will be presented at the school’s talent show and later donated to the Operation Fairy Dust prom dress drive, so that girls who could not otherwise afford it will be able to have a dress to attend their prom. (talent show in mid April. Dresses donated April 22)

Jadon James Woodard, 19, is the youth leader behind the Speak Your Voice project. Jadon is a talented youth spoken word artist, and in Speak Your Voice, he will be will be touring around New York City and the surrounding areas, using his performance art in order to promote healthy self expression amongst other youth. Speak Your Voice seeks to empower and encourage young people to speak up about important issues happening in their lives, and exposes them to the art of spoken word as an outlet. The project also seeks to engage adults to better listen to and support the youth in their lives. Speak Your Voice is supported by the organization Lyrical Playground.

The News Fixers project is the brainchild of Myles Miller, 16, and affirms that “young people shouldn’t become the news, they should fix it.” News Fixers seeks to use journalism as a catalyst for changing issues that disproportionately impact youth in low income neighborhoods, such as violence and educational disparities. The project will empower youth by giving them a voice to broadcast the issues in their communities, and will capture the attention of government officials and other adults by producing professional quality material. The project will also redefine youth in the news, both by putting youth behind the camera and by exposing positive and inspirational stories to break the negative stereotypes around the younger generation.